Together led by Bennett – Restoring Hope

Formal commitment: The party's cost-of-living plan says Israeli food prices are about 33% above the OECD average because "the market is concentrated and lacks competition." Its answer is "competition, competition, competition" ^[22]. The plan has four main parts ^[22]:

• Breaking up large suppliers. Dominant suppliers would not be allowed to control several product lines at once; the plan's example is that Tnuva could not control milk, poultry and frozen vegetables together.
• One food authority and European standards. A single food authority would replace several regulators, and the plan adopts the principle "what is good for European standards is good for Israeli standards."
• Opening imports while supporting farmers. Tariffs would be cut gradually (the plan cites 212% on milk powder) and replaced with direct support for farmers.
• Kosher certification. International kosher certifications would be recognised automatically.

It sets a goal of lowering the average shopping basket to the OECD level within three years; the plan page's summary puts this as cutting food prices by 30% within three years ^[22].

Statement: When the plan was presented in July 2026, the party said that bringing food prices down to the OECD average would save a family about NIS 8,000 a year. The plan as reported also requires suppliers with a monopoly to sell off brands, and requires the Shufersal supermarket chain to sell stores in areas where it dominates. Bennett said: "Lowering prices requires courage. We will wage a struggle against the strongest monopolies and pressure groups in the country" ^[23]. The Jerusalem Post report on the plan mentions no VAT or income-tax cuts ^[23]. In February 2026 Bennett promised to "break monopolies, break up cartels, open the market" ^[24].

Action: As prime minister, Bennett led a government that advanced a kosher-certification reform. On October 27, 2021, the Knesset's religious services committee approved it for final votes. It lets private bodies certify food from January 2023, under licences and standards set by the Chief Rabbinate or by three senior rabbis ^[25]. In February 2022 Bennett, Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman and Economy Minister Orna Barbivai presented a cost-of-living plan of about NIS 4.4 billion. It mixed direct help for households (a tax credit of about NIS 230 a month for working parents of children aged 6 to 12, covering electricity price rises for low earners, and subsidies for after-school programmes) with cuts to import duties on goods such as flour, olive oil, eggs, meat and fish ^[26].

Closest option(s): Open the market to competition and imports (open-market-competition-imports). This is the core of the current plan; the 2022 package in government also included direct help for households.

Formal commitment: The party's personal-security plan treats crime as a national security threat under the prime minister's direct responsibility. It says: "we will define crime as a security threat... and bring the Shin Bet into the campaign, with all its intelligence capabilities." (The Shin Bet is Israel's internal security service.) ^[27]. The plan applies to crime across Israel, not only in Arab communities. Its other points are ^[27]:

• a national operation to collect "hundreds of thousands" of illegal and stolen weapons;
• an "Al Capone method" that targets 100 leading criminals through tax and asset seizures;
• stronger neighbourhood policing;
• legislation to free the police from political pressure.

The plan sets a target of a 30% drop in murders within four years ^[27]. It also says that crime fell by 30% under Bennett's 2021–2022 government; this is the party's own figure and was not independently verified for this document ^[27]. The plan does not mention holding suspects without trial, and the page reviewed did not mention investment in Arab communities ^[27].

Formal commitment (Negev): A separate plan for the Negev, where many Bedouin citizens live, includes the following ^[28]:

• declaring the region an emergency zone;
• defining extortion of protection payments and agricultural crime as "nationalist terrorism," so that the Shin Bet can be involved;
• a joint task force of police, the Shin Bet, the tax authority and prosecutors, under a government project director reporting directly to the prime minister;
• doubling the number of police stations in Bedouin communities;
• tougher minimum sentences, set by law without judicial discretion, for extortion of protection payments, agricultural crime and carrying illegal weapons;
• demolishing illegal buildings in the unrecognised Bedouin areas while speeding up settlement and infrastructure in recognised communities;
• an indictment in every polygamy case and a complete stop to benefits paid to such families.

The plan also offers resilience centres, industrial zones, incentives for Hebrew study and pre-army academies for young people. It sums up its approach as: "whoever integrates will benefit, and whoever does not will meet uncompromising enforcement" ^[28].

Action: The coalition that Bennett headed in 2021 was formed with support from Ra'am, an Arab party. The coalition agreements committed to a NIS 30 billion five-year plan to close gaps in Arab, Druze, Circassian and Bedouin society, a NIS 2.5 billion plan against crime, and recognition of three Bedouin communities ^[15]. On October 24, 2021, the cabinet Bennett headed approved both plans: NIS 29.5 billion over five years for developing Arab society, and NIS 2.4 billion over five years against crime in Arab society, of which NIS 1.4 billion was for law enforcement, including new police stations, and NIS 1 billion for civilian programmes. Bennett said the goal was "to reduce the gaps in education, welfare, women's employment and the economic-municipal sphere" ^[84]. From late 2021 the police ran an enforcement operation called "Safe Route" (מסלול בטוח) against crime in Arab society. In January 2022 a senior police officer told Maariv that its first months had produced 284 searches and 242 arrests, and the seizure of 58 luxury vehicles, 76 weapons and NIS 20 million in cash ^[29].

Statement: In October 2026 Bennett and Lapid also pledged that, if elected, they would ask the head of the Shin Bet to examine the agency's involvement in the case of Haymanot Kasau, a girl missing since February 2024 ^[30].

Closest option(s): Use extraordinary measures, including the Shin Bet (emergency-powers-shin-bet). The plans clearly support bringing in the Shin Bet, but no position was found on the new power to hold suspects without trial that this option also includes. In government, Bennett's cabinet also approved large sums for Arab communities alongside policing (invest-in-arab-communities-first), but the current plans focus on enforcement.

Formal commitment: The party's national security plan says: "we will not move one millimetre from the yellow line until Hamas is fully disarmed." The yellow line is the line the army holds in Gaza under the ceasefire. The plan also says "we have no interest in running Gaza, only in making sure it will not be a base for the next massacre" ^[31]. It promises an ultimatum: Hamas "either disarms, or we will disarm it." It also sets a rule of attacking whenever Hamas builds up or trains ("Hamas grows stronger – we attack; Hamas trains – we attack"), and treats such activity as a breach of the agreement ^[31]. The plan says it will remove Qatar and Turkey from any role in Gaza and bring in Egypt in their place ^[31]. The plan does not mention settling Gaza or encouraging residents to leave ^[31].

Statement: In August 2026 Bennett said: "We will remove Turkey and Qatar from Gaza and bring Egypt in instead, while preserving freedom of action in Gaza" ^[32]. On August 1, 2026, he opposed the "Board of Peace" framework, which sets out how Hamas would disarm and the army would withdraw. He said "Hamas is growing stronger rapidly," that "we must not allow agreements to be signed over our heads, and we must not budge a centimeter from the red line until Hamas is disarmed and the weapons are removed from Gaza," and warned against Hamas storing its weapons "in warehouses when the keys are handed over to Qatar" ^[33]. In June 2026 he said of Hamas's military build-up: "You have to prevent the monster from being built to begin with" ^[34].

Action: While Bennett was prime minister, Israel raised the number of entry permits for workers and traders from Gaza. On October 20, 2021, it authorised 3,000 more, for a total of 10,000. The Defense Ministry body that coordinates civilian affairs said the decision "was made by the political echelon following a security assessment" and depended on long-term stability being kept ^[86]. This was before the October 7 attack; the party's current plan does not propose such steps ^[31].

Closest option(s): Stay where the army is now until Hamas disarms (hold-positions-disarmament-first). The threat to disarm Hamas by force if needed also overlaps with defeat-hamas-then-security-control, but the party does not call for a return to full-scale war now.

Formal commitment: The party's "Those Who Serve Law" plan would require military service or full civilian national service, and would tie state benefits to it. People who complete full national service would get the same benefits as those who serve in the army ^[35]. For those who do not serve, the plan would cancel the stipend for married yeshiva students (kollel), daycare subsidies, discounts on municipal property tax (arnona) and National Insurance discounts ^[35]. For those who serve, it promises:

• for active reservists, a benefit worth NIS 1 million toward a first home, free daycare, after-school programmes and summer school, half-price electricity, water, municipal property tax and vehicle testing, three years of free public transport and a free first degree;
• for those who finish regular service, NIS 1,000 a month toward daycare for children up to age 3, free public transport for three years (five for combat soldiers) and a free first degree ^[35].

The plan reviewed does not set a number of exemptions for full-time Torah scholars ^[35]. The party's national security plan says that while the IDF is short of 20,000 soldiers, 100,000 healthy young Haredi men do not serve, and that "everyone will enlist, without exemptions, without committees and without schemes" ^[31].

Statement: Bennett has made enlistment his main campaign issue:

• "Without quotas and without tricks." At the slate launch on September 6, 2026, he promised to "draft our Haredi brothers, without quotas and without tricks" ^[36].
• No benefits for people who do not enlist. On September 29, 2026, he said: "We will draft everyone, stop the money" going to people who do not enlist, and warned that without more Haredi enlistment "the IDF will simply collapse" ^[37].
• "Not a single shekel." On October 6, 2026, he said that anyone who does not enlist "will not receive a single shekel from the state" ^[38].
• Rejecting a percentage exemption. He rejected Yashar's proposal to exempt 3% of each year's age group, arguing that "three percent is 30% of a Haredi draft cohort" ^[39].
• Cancelling the exemption law. He has pledged to cancel the outgoing government's enlistment-exemption legislation and replace it with a service law that moves the savings to those who serve ^{[40, 41]}.
• An inquiry into enlistment during the war. In March 2026 he promised a special commission of inquiry into what he called "the sabotage of Haredi enlistment" during the war, and said anyone who knowingly took part in breaking the Security Service Law in wartime would be investigated ^[42].

He has also described a gentler route. In May 2026 he promised to bring "our Haredi brothers into employment and military service with love and Israeli solidarity" and to set up well-funded state-Haredi schools ^[43]. In September 2026 he proposed Haredi "hesder yeshivas" along Israel's borders that would combine Torah study with military service ^[44].

Action: As prime minister, Bennett led a government that advanced a bill lowering the age at which yeshiva students are exempted from service from 24 to 21, with the stated aim of letting them start work earlier. It failed on a 54–54 tie on January 17, 2022, and passed its first reading 51–48 on January 31, 2022; the Knesset record shows Bennett voting for it both times ^{[79, 80, 93]}. He said then: "Lowering the exemption age to 21 will allow young Haredim to acquire a profession at a logical age, work at quality jobs and provide for their families" ^[80]. The bill was described as a temporary step until a fuller arrangement, and it did not complete its readings before the Knesset dissolved ^{[9, 80]}.

Change over time: In government in January 2022, Bennett backed a bill that kept the exemption for yeshiva students and lowered its age ^{[79, 80]}. In 2026 he pledges enlistment for all "without quotas and without tricks" and an end to state money for those who do not serve ^{[35, 36, 38]}. The two positions are four years apart, with the October 7 attack and the war in between; no statement by Bennett explaining the difference was found.

Closest option(s): Require everyone to serve, with sanctions on those who refuse (universal-service-with-sanctions). This rests on the 2026 plan and statements. Bennett's statements reject any exemption quota, so his position is stricter than this option's allowance for a small number of Torah scholars.

Formal commitment: The party's housing plan says the crisis "is not fate, but the result of poor management." It sets out seven measures ^[45]:

1. State-backed rental housing. Build 100,000 long-term rental homes within ten years, 40% of them at 30% below market rent, with tax incentives for long leases.
2. Help for reservists. Give active reservists a benefit worth NIS 1 million toward a first home or a better one, plus priority in land tenders.
3. Faster urban renewal. Cut urban-renewal projects (rebuilding old buildings and neighbourhoods) from 10–15 years to five.
4. Faster permits. Move planning powers to local authorities, with a target of a building permit within three months.
5. More construction workers. Bring in more foreign construction workers, on visas of up to seven years.
6. One national housing body. Create a national housing headquarters whose head also chairs the national planning council and the Israel Land Authority (the state body that manages most land in Israel).
7. The periphery. Set a national goal of one million more residents outside the centre of the country within ten years, with investment in transport, jobs, health and education there.

Closest option(s): The plan combines several options: speeding up planning and building (speed-up-planning-and-construction), state-backed affordable rental (state-led-affordable-rental), direct help for buyers who serve (direct-help-for-buyers) and developing the periphery (develop-periphery-and-transport). It does not give one option priority over the others.

Formal commitment: The party's national security plan reverses the current approach to Hezbollah: "If Hezbollah strikes Israel, Israel strikes Iran" ^[31]. On Iran, it says Israel will stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons "with one hand," while speeding up the regime's collapse through political, economic, technological and information pressure ^[31]. On the region, it promises to "strengthen the Abraham Accords, bring back the Negev Summit initiated by Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, and bring normalization with Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and other key countries" ^[31]. The Negev Summit was a 2022 meeting of Israeli, US and Arab foreign ministers. The plan describes Qatar as an "enemy state" ^[31].

Statement:

• Hezbollah and Iran. At a joint event with Lapid in August 2026, Bennett said "every Hezbollah attack will lead to us striking Iran" ^[32].
• Saudi Arabia. At the same event, Lapid, his partner on the list, called for making normalization with Saudi Arabia a central goal while preventing uranium enrichment on Saudi soil "at any cost" ^[32].
• Iran's regime. In June 2026 Bennett described Iran's government as "rotten" and "incompetent," predicted its eventual collapse, and called for pressure on it modelled on the Cold War ^[34].
• US limits on Israel. He rejected US limits on Israel's freedom to act against Hezbollah: "Israel is not a client state or a vassal state" ^[34].
• Relations with the US. He also warned that Israel "cannot base its long-term strategy on a president who currently supports Israel," and called for an overhaul of how Israel presents its case abroad ^[34].
• Qatar. He has said he would formally define Qatar as an enemy state, and that anyone who does not understand this after October 7 "is not fit to lead Israel" ^[32].

Closest option(s): The evidence is mixed. The plan's approach of constant military pressure, striking Iran in response to Hezbollah and keeping freedom of action points to military-pressure-until-threats-removed. Its emphasis on regional alliances and normalization with Saudi Arabia points to force-plus-us-backed-agreements. No document was found that takes a position on the current ceasefires or on withdrawing from southern Lebanon.

Statement: In a recording from a closed meeting, published on September 7, 2025, Bennett said: "I oppose a Palestinian state, I oppose giving up land... I support maximum security and minimum friction with the Palestinians." He added that he supports "autonomy for the Palestinians, that they manage themselves, but they cannot receive sovereignty over the borders" ^{[46, 47]}. In September 2026 The Jerusalem Post reported that Bennett "remains adamantly opposed to a Palestinian state" and supports settlement in Judea and Samaria ^[44]. After an attack on the settlement of Gilad Farm (Havat Gilad) in July 2026, he said "terror must be eradicated with an iron fist" ^[48]. In an interview published on July 3, 2026, he said: "I am against a Palestinian state, period. It is a red line." He described his plan as settlement under the law in Area C, with the Palestinian Authority running Areas A and B under permanent full Israeli security control, and said this was the same as the existing arrangement ^[91]. Candidate Yonatan Shalev (No. 10) said "we're not going to pass Israeli territory to anyone," and that reducing violence by settlers is a priority alongside security ^[21].

Action: In May 2021, during coalition talks, Bennett told his party that as prime minister he would continue the existing policy: not applying sovereignty to territory or setting up new settlements, but also not freezing construction in existing communities or removing any ^[49]. On October 27, 2021, the Defense Ministry's planning council advanced about 3,000 homes in settlements, roughly half of them for final approval, in the first such decision under his government; approval of about 1,300 homes for Palestinians was expected to be discussed the following week ^[85]. In June 2022 his coalition could not pass the renewal of the regulations that apply Israeli law to Israelis living in Judea and Samaria; this was one of the triggers for dissolving the Knesset ^[9].

No formal commitment found. The party's national security plan reviewed for this document has no section on a Palestinian state or on applying Israeli sovereignty to territory ^[31].

Closest option(s): Keep things as they are, with no Palestinian state and no sovereignty (maintain-current-situation). Bennett's stated support for Palestinian autonomy without sovereignty, and his record in government, both match this option.

Formal commitment: According to a Ynetnews overview of party positions (September 22, 2026), the party (B'Yachad) says Israel must "end years of institutional conflict by formally defining the powers of the Knesset, government and Supreme Court" ^[50]. It proposes:

• A Basic Law on legislation. (A basic law has constitutional status.) It would set how basic laws are passed and when the Supreme Court may intervene ^[50].
• The Declaration of Independence as a basic law, to be the opening chapter of a future constitution ^[50].
• Repealing the 2025 law on choosing judges, which the party says would make the courts political ^[50].

Statement: Bennett has repeatedly called for a constitution "in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence" (May 12–13, 2026) ^{[43, 51]}. In September 2025 he said he would "pass a constitution for Israel" ^[47]. The change-bloc leaders' principles document of September 26, 2026, which Bennett signed, assigns "constitutional matters" to a joint working group ^[52].

Closest option(s): The position combines setting agreed rules for each branch in a basic law or constitution (broad-agreed-constitutional-framework) with repealing the new law on choosing judges (repeal-changes-protect-independence). The constitutional framework is the main theme of Bennett's statements.

Statement:

• A state commission of inquiry at once. Bennett has repeatedly said that a government he leads would immediately set up a state commission of inquiry, the most powerful type of inquiry under Israeli law. In April 2026 he said "those who say later about investigating the October 7 massacre mean never" and that his government would set one up as soon as it took office ^[53].
• A condition for joining his government. In September 2025 he said that setting up a state commission of inquiry would be a condition for any party joining his government ^[54].
• Part of the joint list's launch pledges. At the April 26, 2026, launch, the list pledged a state commission of inquiry on the government's first day ^{[4, 5]}.
• "Minutes after the government is sworn in." He repeated the pledge at the slate launch on September 6, 2026 ^[36].
• The state comptroller's appointment. In June 2026 he said the government had made the prime minister's lawyer state comptroller to avoid scrutiny over October 7, and the list announced a petition to the High Court against the appointment ^[55].
• The flydubai incident. In October 2026 he linked an attempted hijacking of a flydubai flight to October 7: "There is a direct line connecting the plane failure to the October 7 massacre" ^[56].

Statement (joint leaders' declaration): The change-bloc principles document of September 26, 2026, signed by Bennett, lists a state commission of inquiry into October 7 among the policies to be drafted for a future government ^[52].

No statement was found in which Bennett discusses alternative ways of choosing the commission's members. He consistently uses the legal term "state commission of inquiry," whose members are chosen by the President of the Supreme Court under existing law.

Closest option(s): A state commission of inquiry under existing law (state-commission-under-existing-law).

Formal commitment: The party's religion-and-state plan keeps the Chief Rabbinate but ends its monopoly. The Rabbinate would keep serving those who choose it ^[57]. The plan:

• Civil partnership. It proposes a "civil partnership covenant" registered at the Interior Ministry, open regardless of religion, gender or sexual orientation, with the full rights and duties of marriage, so that couples do not need to marry abroad ^[57].
• Conversion. Powers to convert would return to community rabbis, under Orthodox standards ^[57].
• Kosher certification. International kosher certifications would be recognised automatically ^[57].
• Shabbat transport. "Every local authority will decide for itself" whether to run public transport on Shabbat and holidays ^[57].
• Schools. Any school receiving public money must teach the core curriculum: "100% core or 0% funding" ^[57].

Statement: On April 20, 2026, Bennett said "cities must be allowed to choose if they want public transportation on Shabbat" and that "every person in Israel should be able to realize their love in this country and not travel abroad" ^[58]. At the launch he spoke of strengthening "a Judaism that brings [people] together, is kind and inclusive" ^[59].

Action: Bennett's government advanced a kosher-certification reform, approved for final votes by the Knesset's religious services committee on October 27, 2021. It lets private bodies issue certification under Rabbinate or rabbinic standards, with the Rabbinate acting as regulator; it does not allow Reform, Conservative or secular certification ^[25].

Change over time: In 2015, as leader of The Jewish Home, Bennett opposed state recognition of same-sex couples ("Recognition — no; rights — yes"). His current party proposes a civil partnership open to same-sex couples ^[20].

Closest option(s): Keep the Rabbinate but let people choose alternatives, with local decisions on Shabbat (more-choice-local-decisions).

Statement:

• Term limits. In September 2025 Bennett said the first topic his cabinet would discuss would be a basic law limiting a prime minister to two terms or eight years, followed by an eight-year break before running again. He said the limit would not apply retroactively and that joining his government would require accepting it ^[54]. Bennett has said "power corrupts, and absolute power for long periods absolutely corrupts" ^[24].
• Term limits in government. Action: On November 22, 2021, while Bennett was prime minister, a government bill to limit a prime minister to eight years in office passed its first reading 66–48, and the Knesset record shows Bennett voting for it ^{[81, 82]}. The bill, sponsored by Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar, would not have applied retroactively ^[82]. It did not become law: Knesset records list it as still awaiting its second and third readings ^[83]. In September 2025 Benny Gantz welcomed Bennett's pledge but wrote that a term-limit law was one of the first he had tried to advance in that government and that "regrettably, the prime minister at the time, Naftali Bennett, opposed it" ^[54]. This is Gantz's account. The Knesset record shows Bennett voting for the government's term-limit bill at first reading ^[81]; no record of Bennett voting against a term-limit bill was found, and no response by Bennett to Gantz's statement was found.
• Running government. In June 2026 he proposed closing seven ministries, handing more power to local authorities and setting measurable targets for ministers ^[60].
• Political appointments. In February 2026 he proposed a temporary review of recent political appointments ^[24].
• Netanyahu. In September 2026 he said of Prime Minister Netanyahu: "I am not a hater of Bibi... I think 30 years is enough," and that Netanyahu "should be pardoned" ^[44].

Action: The Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law is a temporary law, first passed in 2003, that prevents Palestinians from Judea and Samaria and Gaza from gaining citizenship or permanent residency through marriage to Israeli citizens ^[90]. In early July 2021 the Bennett government's request to extend it failed on a 59–59 tie, with Bennett voting for the extension ^[89]. On March 10, 2022, the Knesset passed the law again by 45–15 with opposition votes, and Bennett voted for it; the coalition parties Meretz and Ra'am voted against ^{[88, 90]}.

Statement:

• One school system. Bennett proposes merging the separate school streams (state, state-religious, Haredi and Arab) into one system with a shared core: "One nation – one constitution. One nation – one education" ^[51].
• A 60% shared core. In June and August 2026 he set the shared core at 60% of study time (Hebrew, English, mathematics, civics, Bible and Jewish and Zionist heritage), with communities choosing the other 40% ^{[41, 61]}.
• Funding tied to the core. Schools that do not teach the core would lose state funding: "Anyone who does not study the common Israeli core curriculum will not receive a single shekel from the state" ^[61].
• An education emergency. He promised to declare a national emergency in education to fill a shortage of more than 30,000 teachers ^[61].
• Rebuilding the Education Ministry. In June 2026 he proposed dismantling and rebuilding the ministry, saying the state already spends about NIS 50,000 per child, close to private-school costs, without matching quality ^[60].

Formal commitment: The party's LGBT equality plan includes ^{[20, 62]}:

• a civil-partnership law with equal rights for same-sex couples;
• immediate, equal registration of both parents;
• removing barriers to adoption and surrogacy;
• a ban on conversion therapy;
• making incitement against LGBT people a criminal offence;
• permanent state funding for LGBT organisations;
• a "Basic Law: Equality" protecting against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Bennett said in September 2026: "The time has come to pass these laws" ^[20].

Formal commitment: The party would link the old-age allowance to changes in the average wage instead of prices. It says pensions have lost 16% of their value since that link was removed in 2003 ^[63]. It also promises:

• higher allowances for about 350,000 older people with low incomes, doubling them for the poorest;
• larger grants for Holocaust survivors living in poverty;
• wider eligibility for long-term care;
• recognition of family caregivers;
• a target of cutting poverty among older people to 10% ^[63].

Formal commitment: People with disabilities would keep 60% of their disability allowance after starting work ^[64]. The plan also promises:

• one service point with a personal case manager for each family;
• a requirement that 25% of taxis be wheelchair-accessible;
• an accessibility authority in the Prime Minister's Office ^[64].

Formal commitment: The health plan promises:

• dozens of community health centres within five years, with priority for the periphery;
• branches of leading hospitals in the north and south;
• a programme to bring back more than 3,700 Israeli doctors working abroad;
• double the investment in preventive medicine;
• a national digital health platform ^[65].

Formal commitment: The environment plan includes ^[66]:

• a binding, funded Climate Law;
• shutting units 1–4 of the coal-fired Orot Rabin power station;
• a goal that most waste no longer goes to landfill;
• ending illegal waste-burning sites in Judea and Samaria;
• protecting ecological corridors in law;
• a target of 70% shade on walkable streets.

Statement: On July 20, 2026, Bennett pledged to fight the killing of women "with the tools available to the state," to repeal laws that discriminate against or exclude women, to change early-childhood care to ease the burden on mothers, to create a support body for reservists' families and to appoint more women to senior posts ^[18].

Formal commitment: The party proposes a law to rebuild communities near the Lebanese border until 2035 ^[67]. It covers communities up to 12 km from the border, with support scaled by distance from the border and by war damage. It includes income-tax exemptions, corporate tax rates of 0–4% for preferred businesses, and municipal property-tax discounts (45% for homes, 39% for businesses). Regional council heads welcomed the plan but asked for implementation in law, not only budgets ^[67]. Bennett presented the plan to local leaders on September 23, 2026, and committed to making the law a condition for joining a government ^[67]. Bennett also called the rebuilding of the north a national priority ^[41].

Statement:

• Troop shortage. Bennett says the IDF is short of about 20,000 soldiers. He warned in September 2026 that "the shortage of soldiers is costing us soldiers' lives" ^{[37, 38]}.
• Benefits for reservists. The party promises reservists the housing, childcare and utility benefits described in the Those Who Serve Law plan ^[35].
• The "Deri Law." In October 2026 he proposed a "Deri Law," under which anyone who avoided IDF service, or encouraged others to, could not sit in the security cabinet. He called it "one of our core conditions for the next government" ^[38]. The name refers to Shas leader Aryeh Deri.

Statement: Bennett warned in June 2026 that support for Israel in US public opinion has fallen sharply, and called for an overhaul of Israel's public diplomacy ^[34]. At a joint event in August 2026, Bennett called for defining Qatar as an enemy state and bringing Egypt into Gaza in place of Qatar and Turkey; Lapid, his partner on the list, also called for declaring Qatar an enemy state, and called for normalization with Saudi Arabia, a more cautious approach that could lower tensions with Turkey, and restoring support for Israel in both US parties ^[32].